Vazhakku Enn 18/9 (Court Case Number 18/9; Tamil, 2012)I ended up watching this 2012 India's nomination for the Oscars in the foreign film category. It was recommended to me by my wife as the next best thing since sliced bread using an unknown cast. Unlike me, she never had the chance to appreciate the late 70s and 80's era of 'arty' mainstream Kollywood film shot in unglamorous villages using new plain atypical film-star faces and relatively little makeup. Films in this category would include 'Pasi', 'Nizhalgal' and 'Moodu Pani'.
The way I see 18/9, this film can be divided into 3 parts. The first part showcases the daily trials and tribulations of the low-income citizens of Chennai. Every living day is another day of survival, ferociously arguing and barking at fellow human being for a piece of the dwindling pie in the material world. The second reveals the relative comfort of the prospering 'milder' mannered but shrewd and cautious middle class with their way of living emulating the affluent and the third being the tying up of the story of both.
It starts with a police inspector hurrying to a hospital to interview a patient and her wailing mother. I always find this type of wailing demanding pity by portraying their helplessness a tad irritating behaviour in the community. The officer is told of a certain young boy who had the hots for the victim.
The boy, Velu, is summoned to the police station and he starts telling his story. Remember, till now, the viewers are kept in the dark on the nature of the crime committed and its victim. Velu tells his story to the apparently sympathetic officer...
Velu left his native village to work in a sweat shop making and packing savoury snacks in Northern India to pay off his parents' debt after a dismal harvest. Toiling day and night to this end to this end, he absconds from his workplace when he discovers that the news of his parents' death was kept away from him.
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| Velu |
Velu lands in Chennai literally half dead and penniless. He survives as an assistant to a road-side food peddler. He develops a soft spot for a domestic maid, Jyothi. However, Velu is always seen in a bad light in front of Jyothi and her ferociously protective mother, earning their dislike! After many scenes, things kind of cools down. The next thing he knew was that he was marched to the station for questioning.
Intermission....
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| Sweets making sweat shop |
The teenage daughter of household in which Jyothi worked, Aarthi, volunteered to the police of a certain neighbour boy whom she suspects of the crime. She then narrates her side of the story...
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| What the heck! |
Dinesh, a school going young adult, befriends Jyothi in the pretext of discussing school subjects. Their relationship becomes close, but later she realised that he was up to no good. He had filmed her privately and had boasted about his escapades to his friends via MMS. When she tried to avoid him, he became aggressive. Aarthi suspects that Dinesh must have thrown acid on Jyothi's face!
The final part...
Dinesh and his mother are summoned for questioning. This is where you see the uncouth ways of speaking, abuse of power, police brutality and corruption which are rife in India is bare open. Dinesh's mother, a secretary to a minister, draws in the minister to use his clout and money to bribe the investigating officer, Kumaravel. Velu is beaten to pulp to confess. When he stayed adamant, Kumaravel, played good cop. He made a deal with Velu to confess while he used the rich man's money to finance Jyothi's plastic surgery bills.
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| Love among common people |
The next thing Velu knew, he was doing time for 10 years and Jyothi is ostracized and home bound with a scarred right side of her face.
Jyothi comes to learn the whole truth and avenges by splashing acid on Kumaravel. Velu's case (18/9 - the title of the film) is reviewed. Velu is freed, Jyothi is sentenced 7 years of imprisonment and the police team is reprimanded. The film ends with Velu crying, promising to wait for her till she completes her incarceration albeit her half-burnt face. End.
The story is nothing unusual, having seen injustices of those with wealth or power over the have-nots in too many Tamil movies. The only gripping thing about this thriller is the suspense created by not revealing the crime and to a certain the victim. The main thing that aroused my attention is the director's contrasting depiction of the symbiotic way of life in Chennai of the have-nots on the lowest rung of the social ladder versus the middle class who in a way depend on the other to carry on their journey in life. And there is no running around the park love songs. I would give it a liberal 8.5/10.
"bravura piece of filmmaking that will leave you stunned - and even invigorated - by the time it ends"
M. Suganth, The Times of India (4.5 / 5)
Azaddin Yusof
ReplyDeleteWoops...thought it was Paul Young who sang this Marvin Gayes number
for those coming of age in the late 70s and early 80s, this song means a lot! It was originally done by singers in late 60s.
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